St Pancras Thameslink railway station

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This article or section contains information about a planned or expected future railway station. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the railway station approaches, and more information becomes available.

St Pancras Thameslink, also provisionally known as St Pancras Midland Road, is a railway station that is under construction near King's Cross in the London Borough of Camden and will be served by cross-London Thameslink services operated by First Capital Connect. The station is planned to replace King's Cross Thameslink station, which is located several hundred metres along the Thameslink route to the east, in December 2007.

Contents 1 Background 2 Future purposes 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Background

The Thameslink Programme involves the introduction of 12-car trains across the enlarged Thameslink network, and extending the platforms at the existing King's Cross Thameslink station was thought wholly impractical (such works would require alterations to the Clerkenwell tunnel and the Circle/Hammersmith & City/Metropolitan LUL line, which would be extremely disruptive and prohibitively expensive^[1]). Therefore, a new Thameslink station was proposed, to be situated under the existing St Pancras railway station.

With the exception of City Thameslink, all Thameslink stations to the north of the River Thames can only accommodate a maximum train length of 8 cars. In addition, King's Cross Thameslink is widely regarded to have narrow platforms, poor quality access and egress, and is located several hundred metres east of the major rail termini of London King's Cross and London St Pancras^[1], which means passengers who wish to walk between either of the two termini and the existing Thameslink station have to traverse several busy traffic junctions.

As part of the second phase of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link project (to be branded High Speed 1 from 2007), London & Continental Railways (LCR), the company responsible for delivering the aforementioned project, was authorised by the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act of 1996 to construct an underground 'box' on the Thameslink route, which would house the new Thameslink station. In order for this to happen, the existing Thameslink tunnels between Kentish Town and King's Cross Thameslink had to be closed between 11th September 2004 and 15th May 2005 inclusive while the works were carried out. As a result, Thameslink services from the north terminated at London St Pancras, while services from the south terminated at King's Cross Thameslink.^[2]

After the blockade of the route was finished, the new station was still only a bare concrete shell, and could not take passengers. The budget for the Channel Tunnnel Rail Link works did not include work on the fitting-out of the station, as these works had originally been part of the separate Thamesink 2000 works programme. Despite lobbying by rail operators who wished to see the station open at the same time as St Pancras International, the British Government failed to provide additional funding to allow the fit out works to be completed immediately following the line blockade. Eventually, on 8 February 2006, the Rt Hon. Alistair Darling, Secretary of State for Transport, announced £50 million worth of funding for the fit-out of the station, plus another £10-15 million for the installation of associated signalling and other lineside works in the area.^[3] Work began in the summer of 2006, and the station is due to open in December 2007.^[3]

[edit] Future purposes

Once open, the station will allow passengers to travel to destinations such as Bedford, Luton and St Albans in the north, and to places like Wimbledon, East Croydon and Brighton in the south. There will also be direct services to London Gatwick and London Luton airports. Although yet to receive funding, the Thameslink Programme will enlarge the Thameslink network more than threefold from 50 to 172 stations.^[4] As of 1st April 2006, the above services are operated by First Capital Connect (FCC)^[5].

The following will also apply:

• The station will have a direct underground link to the Western Ticket Hall of King's Cross St. Pancras tube station for onward travel across London via the Underground;^[6]
• Escalator and lift links to London St Pancras station will be included for onward travel to destinations in Europe and the East Midlands, served by Eurostar and Midland Mainline (MML) respectively, and from December 2009, Southeastern will also serve London St Pancras and transport passengers to locations like Stratford International, Ebbsfleet International, Gravesend and Folkestone;^[7]
• London King's Cross station is within walking distance of the station and can be used for onward travel to the Home Counties, East Anglia, the North East and Scotland. Services are provided by Great North Eastern Railway (GNER), FCC and Hull Trains;
• Connections with taxi, bus and coach services for onward travel across the country will be provided.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Department for Transport – the government body responsible for the UK transport system
• LCR – the proprietor of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link project
• FCC – the TOC repsonible for running train services on the Thameslink network
• Always Touchout – a guide to transport projects in London
• Thameslink Programme – the planned expansion and upgrade of the Thameslink network

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
St Albans		First Capital Connect Thameslink (station not yet operational)		Farringdon
Kentish Town		First Capital Connect Thameslink (station not yet operational)